My Fair Lady
by imafangirlforever
Summary: She lied in her past life, just as she lied in this one. They all thought she was a simple pawn, but they had forgotten something. A pawn can turn into a Queen with the right strategy. She'd rather kill Ciel herself than get involved with the plot. OC!Lizzy
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Inspired by _._ _slipping_ 's _Living Twice,_ which is an amazing fanfiction that definitely deserves a lot of recognition. I do not own Kuroshitsuji, nor the picture, and this applies to all following chapters. (edit: Fanfiction hates dots so unfortunately the author name got cut off. ^^;;)**

* * *

The Midford family had always just been a family of liars. She supposed she could have been more eloquent with her words, quipping that her family simply was a group of actors dancing on a stage for the amusement of the Queen, but she never had been one to mince with words, or at least in her head.

Liars, left and right.

Her father was a jovial man, caring and kind who put on a facade of a cold businessman to everyone outside of his family. Her mother cared only for their family and their family alone, and didn't hesitate to mow down whoever was in the path of their happiness and prosperity. Her brother was the least controversial of them all: loyal and brave, but fiercely overprotective of their family. Although he held himself like a true nobleman, Edward wouldn't hesitate to stoop to lower tactics to protect their family.

...and her?

Well, that must be the icing on the cake. She was, simply put, a liar through and through. After all, who else could pose to be Lady Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford so perfectly as she? She had done everything right: the charming smile, the cute giggle, and the overbearing nature. It was just another part to play in the amusing play of life.

She wasn't an impostor. Or was she? She had been born into the Midford family, bearing the name of the all too familiar young mistress of the Midford family, and the same stunning emerald green eyes her brother shared.

She simply had memories. Memories, the only thing she could rely on in a world that she believed must have demons and grim reapers running amok regular humans. Memories of a past life, a life that seemed so unattainable and distant from the life she lived now.

It wasn't like coming from a highly renowned and rich Victorian noble family was horrible. On the contrary, it was quite nice being waited on by servants who simply obeyed her orders because of her born social status, despite the fact that it was sort of demeaning to be expected to not lift a muscle while other people tied her shoelaces and did her hair for her.

But she yearned for those glimpses of a glowing city, bright and full with all sorts of technology that hadn't even been invented yet. She yearned for the warm, welcoming smiles of her home. Her _old_ home.

But alas, that was not meant to be.

* * *

It was real funny when she had figured out she was in Kuroshitsuji. Years later, Elizabeth would laugh at the memory, but at the time finding out that she was in a world that was overrun with corrupt demons and insane grim reapers was nothing short of _frightening_.

She had been in her baby cradle (ah, how interesting it was to be a baby again: all she did was sleep all day) while her brother, Edward, had been watching her. Apparently Aunt Rachel, still pregnant with Ciel, and Uncle Vincent had come over to meet their niece for the first time. Elizabeth had been fine with the attention and cooing that Aunt Rachel showered over her until she saw Uncle Vincent's face and froze.

It looked just like Sebastian's, from Kuroshitsuji.

Wait...Elizabeth...Edward...Vincent...Rachel? Where had she heard those names before?

All the pieces came together, and Elizabeth began wailing. Her relatives were ushered out of the room as Edward went off to call their mother for help.

 _OhgodshewasLizzysheistotallygoingtodieandgetkilledbyasuspiciousbutlersomeday-_

* * *

Being reborn was not a pleasant thing. Her parents were not doting, allowing their child to wander throughout the mansion despite being less than six months old. Her brother, being the kind and chivalrous person he was, tried to look after her but he could only do so much as the male heir to the Midford family. Edward, even at his young age, had plenty of tutors that kept him occupied throughout the day.

Elizabeth, or Lizzy as she insisted for herself to be called so as she would never forget the role she would play in the story she had been put into, often found herself alone in a room filled with weapons and wondered what the standards were for parenting back in Victorian England because she _knew_ her old parents would have freaked out if they could see her at the moment. Heck, _she_ was freaking out at the lack of attention.

Her brother was at the moment with his dinner etiquette tutor and her parents off to attend a social gathering for adults that was too 'complicated' for her and her brother to attend.

Luckily (or was it unluckily?) her parents were too busy to start treating her as a child genius or something so Elizabeth usually had plenty of free time on her hands. The only adult that they hired to stay with her was one attendant named Jonathan to babysit her, and it was easy to escape from him with her intelligence and charming looks.

Elizabeth had easily pointed towards the kitchen, her bottom lip sticking out as she looked like she was about to cry as she stared up at Jonathan. The man quickly realized that she must have been hungry and quickly hurried off.

Then, before her guide returned, she hid behind the giant bookshelf that was right next to her. The most satisfying thing was the sound of her caretaker's panicked cries.

The next day her parents began teaching her the art of stealth.

The peace and quiet was nice while it lasted.

* * *

"That," Francis said as she held the sword to Elizabeth's dainty neck, "was pathetic. Your weak points were all wide open when you tried to feint to my left, and I could have easily knocked the sword out of your hand with your grip like _that._ "

Elizabeth winced as her mother dished out criticism without flinching at all at her somewhat strict words. She had turned three years old when Francis began training Elizabeth in fencing among other unladylike things to prepare her to become Ciel's wife. Of course, all of the training was done in secret and only the family and their most trusted servants knew of it. A wealthy noble girl learning about things like poisons would make wonderful gossip and would not help their social standing.

"The Phantomhives, as dear as they are, are a family that attracts trouble. At the moment, your uncle-" Francis stopped for a moment as if considering to tell the child about the job of a Queen's Watchdog, but ultimately decided against it. Too bad Elizabeth already knew. "-your uncle has a dangerous job he must do to help the Queen and England. Because you are the young Lord Phantomhive's betrothed, you must always be on your toes."

"So does Ciel's family have a job like our family does?" Elizabeth piped up intentionally as her mother gave a slow nod, touching the edge of her sword lightly to check to make sure it was Midfords had always protected England, being an old and influential noble family that held a great political sway and produced the best fencers in the country or possible even the world.

Elizabeth still hadn't met Ciel, as Uncle Vincent and his family were frequently out on various conquests and adventures for the Queen, but she was sure she'd meet her fiance soon. And Elizabeth personally wished that _soon_ would never come, but she knew their meeting was inevitable.

The _plot_ was inevitable.

"Yes. Now up again, we'll keep going until sunset or until you can knock this sword out of my hands," Francis commanded as Elizabeth groaned.

"But you're better than father, and he is the head knight of England." Elizabeth protested.

"Nonsense. And besides, because we are teaching you we expect you to become better than we were, Elizabeth." Francis was the only one who called Elizabeth by her given name and not Lizzy, and even though she had insisted her mother to call her so, the stern woman did not oblige.

If she did not tell people to call her Lizzy, Elizabeth knew she would soon forget that she was living the life of another person who deserved to live. She would forget her own identity and think of herself as Lady Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford, not the Lizzy from the series she once knew. She did not deserve this new chance, she had already prepared herself to go to Hell in her past life…

...was this some kind of obscene punishment? To live a life that was just as marred with dark dealings as her past life? To live a life she already knew the future of?

"Mother~"

"Don't 'mother' me. Now, up on your feet. I will teach you more on how to use hairpins as throwing knives next, and don't you complain again."

Several hours later, the two Midford women returned to their manor utterly exhausted, or at least in Elizabeth's case. She had gained a habit of being knocked off her feet during that one training lesson and didn't win once against her mother, who still looked as beautiful and pristine as she had before the training session.

Her brother had given Elizabeth one cursory glance before patting her on the back sympathetically, saying something about talking to their mother so she'd go easier on Lizzy considering she was a young girl. Elizabeth had shrugged off the help: despite the torture she had been put through, she knew it would help her in the future.

And help her it did.

* * *

 **A/N: This was a fairly short preview for what is to come. Please do leave a review, I always love the feedback. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

" _You bitch," the man snarled as he moved one step closer to the amused looking woman. The woman, who had short black hair tied up into a ponytail with a similarly dreary black ribbon, had dark brown eyes which danced with mirth as she watched the man clutch his injured side, red blood seeping through his fingers._

" _Whoops, my finger slipped." The woman drawled, ever taciturn with her words as she gave the man a look that made him shrink back in terror. "Where is the location? Where did you send them?"_

" _And why should I tell you?" The man gained enough courage to sneer this as she leaned closer to him, face now contorted into a furious scowl and eyes flashing with the rabid madness that only a predator could do. The man's face slowly paled as he saw that there would be no way out of this encounter. The woman was too far gone._

" _I gave them the information you gave me. If our group is compromised because of the false information you fed me, I will_ obliterate _you. Now, what location did you send them to?" She hissed, her eyes flashing with impatience as she tapped her pistol against her leg as a reminder of the harm she could inflict on the man._

" _You're too late." The man threw his head into the air, bitterly laughing as he exclaimed, "They will all burn. Burn to the ground, just as you had to my family long ago."_

 _Bang._

" _Scum," she scoffed, fully aware of the hypocritical status of her words as she allowed the corpse to slump to the ground. Slinging the gun back into its place along her hip, the woman allowed herself a moment of weakness as she closed her eyes, stifling the shudder that threatened to rack her body. With shaking hands, the woman walked out of the room, closing the door with a solid thud._

 _She would not let her new family slip out of her grasp again._

* * *

"Elizabeth? _Elizabeth,_ where are you? Come out at this instant!" Elizabeth's mother called out, a clear tone of exasperation apparent in her voice as she stalked along the hallway, fencing gear and sword in hand. Elizabeth, who was hiding in a rather convenient wooden closet, almost giggled, but at the very last moment she covered her mouth as only her emerald green eyes danced with mirth.

As soon as she felt the coast was clear, Elizabeth slipped out of the closet and into the hallway, glancing around a few moments to make sure no servants had spotted her. Then, with a skip in her step, she made her way into the library. The library was a humongous, grand space with bookshelves and novels lining the entire room in stacks and stacks. There was a slightly musty smell to it, as their family hardly used it except for Elizabeth's and Edward's lessons.

Elizabeth paused in front of one of the shelves, and with a little bit of strain to reach upwards, pulled out a leather covered book. _A Guide to Children's Psychology_ , the title read, and she looked at it for a moment before shrugging and slipping it under her arm. Heading to the back of the library, Elizabeth allowed herself to sit down and open the book. The familiar feel of paper against skin was enough for her to give one small, noglastic smile, before Elizabeth dove into the contents of the book.

As a lady, she hardly got the opportunity to read, although Francis still kept her educated. Although most young ladies were taught nothing but to smile prettily and sew, her mother had still believed in a good education for both of her children. However, this belief did not extend to reading for a passion, and thus whenever Elizabeth had free time she was usually sought out by her mother for fencing practice.

Blah. Fencing. Elizabeth had been getting steadily better, and she found quite surprisingly that her body was fast and able, and after a few experiments with the sword she had been able to wield it somewhat accurately. Not as well as the original Lizzy, obviously, but Elizabeth could still defend herself if necessary.

But she missed books. In her past life, books had been one of her most steady companions in the dark confines of the mafia hideout.

Elizabeth was so invested in her book that she had not sensed the presence that appeared behind her, and when a hand clasped on her shoulder she jumped nearly three feet in the air. "E-Edward," she sputtered, identifying the figure as she fanned her face in surprise, putting her book cover down. "I didn't hear you coming. What is it you need?"

"Dear sister," he said, mirth clearly dancing in his eyes. "Have you not heard Mother's calls? She's looking frantically for you. Everyone thought you hid somewhere in the Fencing Hall and headed there. You're late for your afternoon lessons with her, by the way."  
Elizabeth resisted the urge to cuss in a most unladylike way as she instead opted for a drastic roll of the eyes. "Tell her that I'll come later, as I'm sure there are other pressing matters she can attend to. For God's sake, Edward, I was scheduled to be free today. Mother just wants to add in extra practice."

"She _is_ quite demanding at times," Edward added thoughtfully. Edward really could never argue with his darling sister, and Elizabeth was already starting to see that sister complex of his form.

"Really, now?" A voice drawled, and both Edward and Elizabeth paled as they turned around to see their mother with her arms crossed around her chance, tapping her foot impatiently as she gave them a look that sent shivers down Elizabeth's spine.

Edward must have led her here. Elizabeth cursed her mother's observance and Edward's obliviousness in that moment. Giving a level, cool stare at her brother, Elizabeth conveyed her silent message. _I will get you back._

Edward shivered. As much as he loved Elizabeth, sometimes his little sister could be unnaturally observant and scary.

* * *

Elizabeth was a clever girl. A very clever girl, in fact, and so it didn't take too long to put the pieces together when she had been introduced to a navy blue haired little boy that her father had introduced as 'the Phantomhive heir, your cousin, and your fiance, Ciel-kun'.

The plot was moving.

Ciel had gotten down to his knees, taking her left hand and kissing it softly, already having been informed of the proper etiquette to greet his future fiance. "Lady Elizabeth." His blue eyes sparkled as a small smile tugged at his face, indicating that the young heir had not yet become the power hungry, destructive person she had witnessed in her past life.

That had been the largest hurdle that had been thrusted at her yet. So far, the hardest part was to keep up the facade of a young spoilt child to her family, which hadn't been hard, considering that most people did not think that a small tittering four year old could be dangerous. Honestly, Elizabeth didn't know why people thought that acting like a child was hard: the hardest thing was to keep her intelligence hidden under a mask while making sure that her eyes shone just like a child. That, along with her mother's grueling training in swordsmanship, had mainly occupied her life up to date. But to actually meet Ciel Phantomhive…

Elizabeth's lips twitched as she tilted her head cutely at just the right angle, emerald green eyes shining with both mirth and excitement. "Please call me Lizzy, Ciel. It would be nice if we were on less formal terms."

She wondered why she hadn't met Ciel before, but she supposed that the Midfords and Phantomhives really had no reason to be close until her and Ciel's birth. After all, no family in their right mind would willingly associate with the Phantomhive family without a purpose. Elizabeth was snapped out of her thoughts by Ciel's voice.

"As you wish, Lizzy." Ciel graced her with another smile as she couldn't help but be taken aback by how _innocent_ he was and the sudden surge of protectiveness she felt about the boy. She didn't want Ciel to turn out so hurt and broken as she remembered. She somehow...wanted to protect his smile.

She almost wanted to snort at how cliche it was until she caught herself.

It was no time to be getting attached to people. She had decided to take care of herself, and _keep_ her personal safety as her number one priority. Ciel could...just find some other crazy spoiled secretly badass brat who could put up with his immature and mature mood swings and make him laugh and could love and accept him just as much as Elizabeth did in the-

Oh, who was she kidding? The only people she really knew who would do that were crazy fangirls from her past life, and that wouldn't be of any use in this world. In the series, Lizzy had been the one last piece of innocence from Ciel's past. In this world, Elizabeth wasn't that girl. She _couldn't_ act as a supportive fiance: she was not that loyal. She just couldn't.

Suddenly realizing that both her father and Ciel were staring at her expectantly, she quickly recovered from her thoughts. "You know, Ciel-kun, you're so cute!" Elizabeth giggled, cupping her chin with her hands as she examined the short boy even closer as Ciel inched back nervously against her scrutinizing stare. Launching herself over to him, she clung onto her fiance easily. "I like you!"

"Thank you?" Ciel asked somewhat hesitatingly as she giggled girlishly at the response, tugging at the end of his sleeve with surprising strength that Ciel hadn't expected the girl to possess. Then again, if she really was part of the Midford family, he supposed he should have expected it considering what his father had told him before.

Her smile wavered for a moment as her hands twitched, still wrapped around Ciel's neck. _It would be so easy for her to kill him right now and save her from any trouble in the future_. Elizabeth caught herself halfway into her thinking as she inwardly scolded herself for her own stupid thought. Vincent would _kill_ her as soon as Ciel was hurt: the Queen's Watchdog was a nice Uncle when he didn't bare his fangs, but as soon as his territory was invaded, he would go on the attack. Instead, she resumed her facade as an innocent little girl.

"Come on! Why don't we play with my toys for now?" Looking up innocently, Elizabeth batted her eyelashes as her big round emerald green orbs peered up at Ciel's father. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No, child. Feel free to." Vincent looked somewhat amused as he watched his son get taken away by the spirited young girl.

As she dragged Ciel off, she couldn't help but secretly smirk as she heard the man telling her father about how charming and sweet his child was and how sure he was that Ciel and Elizabeth would get along.

If only he knew.

* * *

"London bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London bridge is falling down, my fair lady~" Angelina Dalles's hands enclosed Ciel's tiny body as she drew him up into a hug, giggling along with Ciel and Elizabeth.

"Lizzy, that's not fair!" Ciel pouted, escaping out of his aunt's arms as he pointed at his fiance accusingly. "You cheated!"

"I did not. You were just too slow," Elizabeth said pointedly. Whenever she was about to lose, she had quickly dodged the woman's arms and instead pulled Ciel in between his mother and aunt. Of course, the young Phantomhive heir had not reacted well to her... _manipulation_ of the game.

"Not fair!"

"Well, Ciel and Elizabeth, would you two like to go shopping?" Angelina, later known as Madame Red, looked fondly at her nephew and his fiance as Elizabeth brightened while Ciel looked even more repulsed. Ciel's mother just looked on amusedly as the children began bantering again.

"Shopping's for girls!"

"Nonsense!" Elizabeth tittered, looking very cute as she played with her wavy hair. She had refused to curl her hair into the ridiculous curly ponytails she had remembered from her past, instead opting to use a black ribbon as a hairband. This in turn made her outfits, stylishly chosen by the Midford servants according to the young mistress's orders, stand out a lot more instead of strangers focusing on her hair. "Ciel, we're going to make you super cute!"

"But I don't want to…"

"You'll make more of an adorable girl than me!" Her statement was met with a glare, and Elizabeth shuddered as she tried to imagine Ciel as he would be a few years from now. If his glare at the moment could scare her, the Ciel she had seen in her past life must have been much scarier.

"Well, Ciel-kun _does_ need new clothes for the upcoming formal party that the Lancord family is hosting tonight," his mother said thoughtfully, giving Ciel an innocent smile as the navy haired boy looked at his mother as if he had been betrayed by one of his kind.

"Okay! Let's all go then!" Elizabeth tugged on Ciel's sleeve as she took his tiny hand in hers, dragging him to where the carriage prepared by Tanaka was already waiting.

As they sat in the carriage, Ciel uncomfortably squished between Elizabeth and his aunt, he couldn't help but glance at his cheerful blonde cousin who was humming a tune under her breath every once in awhile. His cousin, Lizzy, was _weird._ Ciel sort of thought of her to have a double personality or something: sometimes she could act overly girly and cute, but other times she'd be so manipulative and push him into things he didn't want to do.

He had observed his pushy cousin so many times now and still could not figure out which was the mask and which was the true personality. Ciel knew himself to be a clever boy, and if her facade was so intricately woven, he could only conclude one that Lizzy, like him, had an intelligence higher than their age group.

Then again, he could attribute her fluctuating personality to her pesky family. The Midfords, even after their union by marriage with the Phantomhives, were always reserved yet outgoing nobles.

"Ne, ne, Ciel?" Elizabeth's childish voice broke him out of his thoughts as she let out a laugh. "Are you excited for the Lancord's evening party? I heard they're going to bring all sorts of exotic food out since the family specializes in the cooking industry. Can't you imagine all of those heavenly aromas?"

"I'm excited, you're just too excited." Ciel deadpanned as his cousin pouted.

Elizabeth clicked her tongue, the action drawing away any serious note to her statement. "Not nice, Ciel. Where are your manners?" She shrugged it off though, extravagantly waving her hands in the air as the carriage came to a stop in front of a very high class looking children's boutique. Elizabeth grabbed her pink parasol, which she had left in the carriage from one of her earlier trips to the Phantomhive manor, and grabbed her cousin's arm as she brought him inside.

They browsed the shop idly, Ciel mainly trailing behind her as Elizabeth couldn't help but gush and gasp at all of the new releases. There were attendants waiting to be called on either side of them, heads bowed respectively as the two children ran around the shop. Victorian styled clothing would never cease to amaze her, Elizabeth supposed as she fingered a silky pink dress.

The original Lizzy would have loved it.

That thought struck her cold as she shoved it away, deep down into the darkest parts of her mind. Elizabeth didn't have to be reminded of the fact that she had quite literally _stolen_ Lizzy's life from her. At times, the panic that would settle inside her (-she wasn't meant to be here, _not here_ , not _her_ ) would overwhelm her. She didn't want to be here. She didn't want this life.

But as fate would have it, she did, so she might as well make the best use out of it.

There were not many things that motivated Elizabeth Midford, but luckily self preservation was one of them. She couldn't ever be too sure of the future, and thus had to make sure she was damn ready for the storm that was brewing ahead.

Elizabeth's gaze was still fixated on the pink dress in front of her that was so similar to the one she remembered Lizzy wearing in the anime. The dress was literally made of ribbons and silky frills that were too impractical, and Elizabeth had refused to wear it the first time her servants showed her the outfit despite her resolve to act as Lizzy. There were certain things she couldn't sacrifice, including her dignity as an independent young woman who had no need for silly pink poofy dresses.

Her fingers trailed against the expensive fabric of the dress for a moment longer before turning to Ciel, bravado once again revived.

Ciel did not know why he suddenly felt so nervous under his fiance's pressing stare.

"Ciel! I found something that suits you perfectly!" Elizabeth picked up the dress, her eyelashes fluttering innocently while she stuck out her bottom lip, emerald green eyes sparkling and looking like the epitome of innocence as she took amusement in watching her cousin sputter and redden at the thought of wearing a _dress_ of all things.

"I refuse!"

"You'll look better than me in it," Elizabeth cooed as if that statement would convince him to wear the atrocious outfit, and the compliment (insult?) seemed to pierce straight through Ciel's heart as his eyes narrowed.

"I will _never_ wear a dress!" Ciel declared resolutely as his cousin giggled.

(Years later, Ciel would curse his rotten luck for turning even the most innocent statement into a lie as he glared at his butler as if it was Sebastian's fault, tugging at his fake corset.)

"I'm sure you won't." She nodded, a devious spark to her eye as Elizabeth twirled around and held up several other pieces of clothing, a grin spreading across her face as Ciel's, in comparison, paled considerably. "But I'm sure you can wear a skirt."

Oh, how fun it was to be a child again.

* * *

 **A/N: In which Ciel is introduced to his cousin and has no idea what to do with her lol.**

 **Thank you for all of the support! I read each and every review, and noticed every single addition (favorite/follow/view) to this story (saying this in a nonstalkerish way, just saying), and it makes me happy to know that you guys appreciate it. :)**

 **Until next time~**


	3. Chapter 3

When they had arrived at the ball, everyone had chattered about how _adorable_ the two children looked together and questioned the identity of the cute little blue-haired _girl_ and striking blonde _boy_. The tealette had shot their companion a withering look before stalking away, his mother giggling behind him.

"Ciel~" Elizabeth rushed to catch up to him as she couldn't help but grin at seeing him stuck in an intricate pink skirt and fancy white blouse. "You're not that mad, right? I even joined you in crossdressing so you wouldn't be as embarrassed!" The fact hardly impressed him, although Elizabeth was definitely relishing the feeling of wearing pants again. Wearing skirts all day was tiring.

"Don't call my real name in public!" Ciel sputtered, scandalized as he adjusted his prim white gloves, a little of the Ciel she remembered in the past shining through as he gave a glare at the outfit. "It's bad enough I'm stuck in _this_ atrocious outfit, but if anyone finds out I'm the...family heir, our reputation is done for."

"It'll be fine," Elizabeth said dismissively, not-so-subtly admiring her white tuxedo. She had slicked her hair back with gel and done everything she could to look more masculine, and it had brought great results. She looked similar to her brother, albeit a lot shorter, and with one charming smile she could make some of the young heiresses in the room swoon. (At this age already? Hah, Elizabeth definitely knew that both she and her brother could totally turn into lady killers when they grew up if she wanted to.)

"Um...excuse me?" A pretty looking girl with mousy brown hair and deep blue eyes tugged on Elizabeth's arm as she turned and gave the girl a handsome smile, making sure to deepen her voice somewhat.

"Yes?"

The girl blushed, fiddling with her fingers as she looked down anxiously before looking back up and meeting Elizabeth's emerald green eyes. "Would you do me the honor to dance with me for a round, prince?"

Ignoring the slight choking sound that came from Ciel, Elizabeth smiled charmingly again and bowed, taking the girl's hand and kissing it softly. "It would be my pleasure." She swore that if the girl hadn't been in front of her so-called prince, she would have swooned.

Setting the girl's hand on Elizabeth's shoulder and her own hand on the girl's waist, the two began waltzing to the music, Elizabeth happily oblivious to the envious stares that both her and her partner were receiving from the crowd of young heirs. It was obvious that her dance partner was well liked in the higher circles, Elizabeth supposed as she spun the girl around.

They waltzed through the other couples, the girl solely focused on Elizabeth, who was very amused by the situation as out of the corner of her eye she saw Ciel pinch his nose and sigh, leaning against a pillar and watching the dance silently until two boys went up to him and began flirting with her cousin.

Ciel looked plain disgusted.

It was concluded: crossdressing was _hi-larious!_

The music ended as the girl curtsied, hands lingering for a moment on Elizabeth's shoulder. Elizabeth bowed, a smirk clearly spread across her face.

"T-thank you for dancing with me," the girl said hesitatingly as Elizabeth's mouth twitched.

"It was my pleasure, Lady—" Elizabeth halted as the girl hastily finished, "—Lucia. Lucia Lancord, and your name?"

Registering that this was the daughter of their hosts for the night, Elizabeth kept a straight face as she pressed a kiss to the girl's hand again, swiftly lying as she thanked her lucky stars that she looked similar to her brother, with her similar green eyes and golden hair. "Edward Midford."

"I-I see, Sir Midford-"

"Please," Elizabeth said smoothly as inwardly she cackled at the girl's starstruck look. She was going to pay back her brother twice fold for making fun of her unladylike posture as she glanced at where the real Edward was, flirting with some girl. "Just call me Edward." Casting a glance at Ciel, who looked thoroughly annoyed and somehow managed to shake off the boys who were flirting with him, she continued, "I'm afraid I must join my cousin. Until next time, Lady Lucia."

As she made her way back to Ciel, Elizabeth resolved to try crossdressing again sometime, and she'd probably drag Ciel along. She watched with fond eyes as her fiance walked off with a flourish towards the table with the refreshments as she drew near. Under normal circumstances they would probably greet the hosts of the party, also known as Lucia's family, but she doubted it would do good for the two of them and their families' reputations to show up dressed as they were.

Out of the corner of her eye she could see her brother still flirting with one of the girls, looking exactly like her. It seemed as if Lady Lucia had mistaken him for her (or her for him?) and had gone up to her brother as well, smiling charmingly as Edward looked completely caught off guard. The girl's eyes began to tear up as her brother said something and Elizabeth nearly laughed out loud as Edward tried to awkwardly rectify the situation.

Revenge complete.

Elizabeth searched for Ciel, who was picking out drinks for them at the refreshment table and managed to charm a few men on the way. ( _Men_ , flirting with her dear cousin. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel jealous about them flirting with her fiance, but all she could feel at the moment was ecstatic glee at the tortured expression on Ciel's face.)

Her eyes turned serious as she leaned against a stone pillar. Right now, all she was focused on was getting close to Ciel. That thought itself sounded cold, and she wanted to push it away despite it being the truth.

To be honest, Elizabeth was a very, very selfish person. And she didn't want to be put in danger, and considering her place in the plot itself, she would be getting a lot of that because of her role as Ciel's fiance.

She couldn't force her parents to break off the engagement with the Phantomhive household either: that would not bode well politically for both families. So, she would get as close to her cousin as possible to ensure her safety. Ciel might someday try using her as a pawn, but if she managed to worm her way into his heart now while he was still vulnerable, Elizabeth was sure that Ciel would make sure Sebastian protected her.

Of course, if she could prevent the whole kidnapping-and-burning-the-Phantomhive-manor incident on Ciel's birthday, that would be all the better. No demons, no butlers, just the two of them. That was what Elizabeth preferred: everything else was too messy and she really couldn't rely on fading memories from a past life to keep herself from getting into checkmate.

"—Lizzy?" Ciel's voice startled her out of her thoughts as Elizabeth plastered a fake smile on her face, turning to him. He had returned with two cups of exquisite punch imported from a tropical island.

"Yes, Ciel?" She took the cup, taking a sip as Ciel did the same with his own. The taste was tangy, with just a tinge of citrus along with other tropical fruits like coconuts, pineapples, and bananas. England really didn't have many of those kinds of fruits, and Elizabeth missed the diverse selections of food that her previous life had.

"Tanaka brought us both a change of clothes, so can we please change out of these horrid clothing and properly greet the Lancord family tonight?" Ciel pleaded as Elizabeth pretended to consider the notion for a second before shaking her head, taking another sip of the punch. His voice was indignant as he said, "Lizzy!"

"Fine," she sighed, pressing a finger to her forehead, finishing the punch and motioning for him to follow as she handed the crystal cup back to one of the servants waiting at the sides of the ballroom. "Let's go."

As they walked towards the exit of the ballroom, they were interrupted by a scream. Several gunshots could be heard coming from back in the ballroom, and a wave of people began frantically making their way the same way the two were heading. They were almost trampled over, but luckily the blonde haired girl managed to drag her cousin out of harm's way as they hid behind a pillar.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, cursing the rotten luck of the Phantomhives to somehow attract corpses when least expected as she glanced at Ciel. "Let's keep moving. Your father will take care of it."

The whole Midford _and_ Phantomhive family was present, and Elizabeth doubted that her mother would need much backup. It was most likely though that her family was busy evacuating the party guests (protecting the innocent was one of their family's priorities) and Ciel's family was confronting the disrupters.

Ciel hesitated for a moment before shaking his head, looking oddly solemn despite his poofy outfit as he tugged at her arm. "Lizzy, do you mind if we head over to look at what's going on?"

"That can be dangerous, you know." Elizabeth pursed her lips as Ciel scowled, the old (future?) Ciel shining through as he countered her.

"Then you go. As heir to the Phantomhives I need to know what is going on." Ciel turned to walk back into the ballroom when Elizabeth surprised herself, grabbing onto his arm to stop him from leaving.

"Wait!" Elizabeth bit her lip, sincerely wondering what she was doing getting attached to the blue haired boy as she sighed defeatedly, avoiding meeting his eyes. _Just once. She would only be doing this once._ She had made a mistake, getting attached to Ciel. She wouldn't do so again. A weak smile grew on her lips. "I'll come with you. Can't have my future husband skewered under my watch, right?"

"—eh? R-right."

To both her amusement and surprise, Ciel's ears turned red as she felt blood rush to her own cheeks as both children silently moved into the ballroom that had gone eerily quiet, most of the guests already having been evacuated. It must have been a funny sight, two children nearing the ages of six and seven (dear lord, it dawned on Elizabeth then how young they were at the moment and how young Ciel was during the series) heading back to the crime scene. While cross dressing.

The ballroom was a circular room with great marble pillars lining the ends of it, and Elizabeth found it easy to slip into one of the cracks between the pillars as she watched the scene unfold in front of her eyes, her hand still clutching onto Ciel who had smartly stayed silent.

There was a man in a pure black trenchcoat with a black hat and dark glasses that obscured his face from the two children standing in the middle of the ballroom.

"—think that the Lancord family can just suddenly break off the deal?" He said in a low voice, towering over a girl. Elizabeth recognized her to be the girl she had danced with earlier, Lucia, and silently she cursed.

"Put the gun _away_ from the girl," someone said in a strained voice as Ciel's eyes widened as Elizabeth realized it was her uncle, also known as Vincent Phantomhive. It was rather obvious the current Queen's Watchdog would personally see to the disturbance. Perhaps that was why their families attended in the first place: yet another mission from the Queen. "Or I'll shoot."

"Why, you're free to try." The man sneered, fingering Lucia's chin as he kept his gun firmly positioned to shoot her head at any moment as he pressed the weapon harder to her head. "But when the Lancords blame you for the hole in their daughter's head I'll be long gone."

The two men were at an obvious stalemate, and Elizabeth's eyes swept the scene as she observed the entire room. Lucia's mother, Lady Lancord, was hiding behind a flower pot positioned between two pillars, looking utterly horrified as she watched the encounter. Elizabeth had met her once at one of her aunt's tea parties. Sir Lancord must have been the man standing next to Ciel's father, then, Elizabeth realized.

Silently, Elizabeth thanked all the training her mother had put her through to make sure she would survive as the 'wife of the future Queen's Watchdog'. Despite the hell she had been put through, Elizabeth could still feel all the concealed weapons she kept on her body out of habit, thanks to Francis developing a training method of sneaking up on her daughter when she least expected it. Three hairpins coated with strong paralyzing powder (of course, the same color as her hair so no one could notice and discover her crossdressing), two poisonous rings, two blades in her shoes, a belt with hidden antidotes because she should never carry poison without having an antidote ready, and a decorative sheath with a real sword inside.

...strangely, Elizabeth felt slightly over prepared. And perhaps slightly badass.

Striding over to the scene while wearing her confidence like a cloak, she ignored Ciel's panicked hiss of "Lizzy get back here!". Elizabeth beamed at the man and crept up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder as she drew her hairpin she had hidden in her hair. "Excuse me sir, I think you dropped this."

The man turned around, his face alight with fury as he stared down at the _tiny_ girl who dared to interrupt him as out of the corner of her eye she saw her Uncle tense. And with a bright smile, she promptly swiped the hairpin covered in paralysis powder on his face while kicking the gun out of his hand, the weapon clinking and falling to the ground close to where Ciel was hiding. Elizabeth knew her cousin would keep the man from retrieving it. It was as if the world was in slow motion as the man realized what Elizabeth had just done as he drew out his knife, muscles taunt as he hissed, " _You!"_

She tugged on Lucia's arm, grabbing the girl by the arm and nearly throwing her back towards Vincent where she knew the heiress would be safe with her uncle and focused on her opponent. She was too close to him for Vincent to shoot the man and knew Ciel was of little to no help and put on a pretty smile which seemed to catch the man off guard. "Sorry, mister, but I'm afraid that you won't be able to move in a few seconds."

"Then I'll make damn use of those few seconds." The man snarled as he reached out at her with his knife, and Elizabeth barely jumped back in time to save her face from becoming permanently scarred as she did several backflips, moving diagonally and switching directions as the man lunged after her. The paralyzing powder should have kicked in already, she realized with silent horror as she remembered her brother had taken them and swapped them out with regular hairpins.

How could she make such an amateurish mistake? And on her first real encounter, too. Any confidence from earlier she had felt had vanished, and she cursed herself for counting her chickens before they hatched. Elizabeth grimaced, an unladylike thing to do, and smoothed over her face as she unsheathed her sword, feeling at least a little better with the familiar weapon in her hands.

"Like we'd let you pull another trick like that." The man snapped his fingers, and too late Elizabeth realized it was a signal as she moved to the left just enough so that a bullet grazed her shoulder, leaving a slightly bloody trail behind. There was a sniper on the roof.

Damn it all. She miscalculated. Why didn't she consider if there was a _sniper?_

Oh, she was so screwed. Not only did the man have unexpected backup but by drawing the sword she just painted a big red target on her back.

It seemed as if Ciel and his father had realized the danger she was in as well, judging by the looks on their faces.

Another bullet shot past her, knocking her sword out of her hand as Elizabeth could almost hear her mother's voice scolding her. " _What was with that weak stance? Don't let your guard down and never let go of your weapon."_

The man was closing in the distance between them quickly, and Elizabeth knew in a primitive struggle using just their bodies the man would obviously win over her small, petite ( _child's_ , a traitorous voice in her mind whispered, _you stole a child's body_ ) body physically.

"Lizzy!" Ciel called out, and Elizabeth didn't turn around as he tossed the gun the man had been using towards her. Her hand shot out and grabbed it, briefly checking to make sure it was loaded before taking solace behind a pillar. Her hand was slightly shaky but she kept her position as she levelled the gun. If she pulled the trigger, it would be an instant kill from her position.

Elizabeth hesitated. But...she didn't want to be a murderer. Not again, not in this life when her hands were finally clean again ( _notstainedred_ ).

Those brief moments of hesitation was enough for the man to close most of the distance between the two, and Elizabeth faintly registered that her hand was shaking.

 _Damn it...damn it... move you idiot!_

A shot rang through the hall, and to Elizabeth's surprise and relief it was not from her gun. Vincent had shot the man in the leg, ducking behind one of the pillars as well before the sniper shot him. A feeling of dread hit Elizabeth as she felt her chest clench, and with wide eyes she watched as Ciel was knocked down by a shot from the sniper.

Ciel's surprised blue orbs met her eyes for a moment, and in that moment the world seemed to freeze as he slowly fell to ground, his body limply hitting the floor with a sickening thud. She couldn't hear anything. She couldn't see anything but the fallen figure of her fiance, blood rushing to her ears and her mouth moving before her body did.

" _Ciel!"_ She let out a cry as the world buzzed around her as she dodged Vincent's attempt of shoving her back behind the pillar where she would be safe. Her uncle looked clearly torn as well but kept his gun trained on where he saw the sniper shoot. She made it to her cousin's side and assessed his wound. Elizabeth's breath was heavy as she scrutinized the wound. Although she was never a doctor, working with plenty of _yakuza_ groups in her past life had given her enough experience on how to treat wounds like these.

The bullet had torn straight through his shoulder, barely missing his neck. Something had stopped the sniper from killing him completely. Ciel shifted, but Elizabeth made sure to keep him down. " _Don't_ move," she whispered, her voice wavering slightly as she ripped off her tuxedo coat and tore her undershirt into pieces of cloth, pressing it against his gunshot wound and applying pressure.

Outwardly she kept a mask of calm as she refused to let her hands shake but inwardly she was panicking.

 _It wasn't going to work. She was going to be responsible for her fiance's death. She never remembered this in the manga_ —

Focus. A feeling of despair seemed to wash over her as the bleeding _wouldn't stop_ and she gritted her teeth, stemming the bleeding the best she could as she shifted to adjust the angle, her eyes darting around for some kind of gauze.

Elizabeth worked quickly, her body moving automatically as she had during other procedures in her past life. Her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, blocking out any outside interferences and sounds as she focused on herself and the patient.

 _Ciel was going to die_ —

She refused to think negatively.

It seemed like hours until she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Aunt Angelina give her an approving smile. She had not seen the red haired woman the whole party so it came as quite a shock to her, but numbly Elizabeth moved and let the doctor do her work. She wasn't stupid enough to try and save Ciel without any medical supplies.

She felt her brother pat her on the back, giving her a tired smile and there was blood on his face-why was there blood? _OhtherewassomuchbloodandCielwasgoingtodie_ —

"Elizabeth." Both Edward's stern voice and the fact that he used her real name drew her out of her stupor as she stared at her brother with nearly empty eyes. "Calm down. Ciel...Ciel will be fine."

"But it's all my fault!" Elizabeth blurted out and once she started the words wouldn't stop coming. "I shouldn't have let him come along and I was reckless enough to think I was enough to protect him—"

"Stop." Her brother stopped her mindless rambling, and his eyes softened as he gave her a small smile, pulling her close. His arms wrapped around her, the warmth and comfort making her eyes water as he whispered, "You did well, Lizzy. As the fiance of the future Queen's Watchdog you performed adequately. But that doesn't mean you can act human every once in awhile."

Those words were all the permission she needed as Elizabeth buried her face into his shoulder and began sobbing loudly.

.

(Later, Elizabeth would wonder that if her 'brother' knew she was an imposter and _was not Lizzy_ , would Edward still be as kind and forgiving to her?)

.

* * *

 **A/N: Huzzah, hooray, rejoice. Would you look at that? I'm back. And with a somewhat action filled chapter to boot. :D**

 **Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I read each one and they made me really happy. :) Also, a thank you to the followers, favorite-ers, and readers. You guys are amazing.**

 **(Oh, since I'm already here, just an fyi for future chapters. All italicized beginning parts of the stories are flashbacks of Elizabeth's past life. As you may or may not have gathered from the previous flashback, she didn't work on the side of the law. I'll be throwing in some backstory now and then to expand on Elizabeth's character.)**

 **Thanks for reading! Drop a review if you have time, it'd make me really happy. :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: A slightly short chapter to keep this story alive as I continue to desperately write my other stories. :)**

* * *

After the incident the Lancord family had sent a letter of thanks to the Midfords, but considering the shady circumstances of exactly _why_ they were targeted (the man had mentioned something about breaking off a deal?) Elizabeth doubted she'd see Lady Lucia again any time soon. There had been an awkward talk with her parents about why she shouldn't cross dress, although she caught the fact that they never said she _couldn't_. Mother surely knew the risks of being a woman in this time.

She hadn't seen Ciel since the incident either. It had only been two weeks, she reasoned with herself as she stared out of the window, her face propped against her left hand as she tuned out her tutor's senseless ramblings. Elizabeth had been a valedictorian back in high school, and got a special award in math. She didn't need any extra help in learning about addition and such.

Actually, she wondered why she was even getting tutors. Business women during the Victorian Era weren't completely respected, right? She chalked it down to her mother's insistence and belief in the power of females. Aunt An was also a doctor, so noblewomen must have somewhat been respected.

"Young Miss, are you even listening to me?"

She turned to her tutor, drawling idly as she twisted the emerald ring her brother had bought for her the other day around her finger, "Yes sir."

"Then tell me, how do you solve this problem?" He gestured towards the piece of paper, which had a fairly complicated (or at least, for her 'age') math problem written in ink.

Leisurely, Elizabeth picked up her feather pen, dipped it in ink, and dabbed it a few times to make sure that it didn't drip before writing out the solution without any effort. Feather ink pens were a _pain_ to write with. Elizabeth scratched her nose as she wrote out the work next to the answer. After setting down the pen, she looked up to see the surprised eyes of her tutor, his jaw slightly dropped with awe.

He probably didn't expect her to answer. Perhaps the theory behind the question wasn't taught to her yet? Elizabeth swallowed down a small wave of panic as she smiled gently. "Is this what you want, Sir Richard?"

"G-good." The man seemed to recover as he nodded his head absolutely. "It seems as if your parents were right about your intelligence. We'll need to move you up a level, or even two in mathematics. Next time I'll bring a test to see where exactly you are, okay?"

Elizabeth nodded, although as a child she probably didn't have a choice anyways. At that very moment, there was a knock on the door and Elizabeth blinked before their family butler, Alfred, opened the door. "Young Miss, you've been invited by the Phantomhives to come to their manor. The Young Master, Sir Midford, and Lady Midford are already preparing. They say that you shall leave in an hour."

Elizabeth's face brightened immensely, and she was surprised to realize that the smile was... _real_. She was actually worried about Ciel, worrying about him like a normal human being.

"He's...alive?" She asked slowly, pronouncing every syllable.

Alfred gave her a kind smile. "Thanks to you, Young Miss. Doctor Angelina was quite impressed with your quick reactions. If you hadn't done so then, he might have bled to death before they got there. You helped save his life."

A feeling of warmth spread throughout her. Elizabeth had thought she had long since discarded the feeling of pride that came with saving a patient's life, ever since her death and rebirth when she promised herself to _take care of herself first_ and _screw the plot, she was going to live a full, happy life for Lizzy._

"I see. I'll go prepare now, and thank you Sir Richard for your...enlightening lesson." A tiny edge of sarcasm was apparent in her tone as she waved her hand dismissively. The man bowed before leaving the room. A cruel smirk made its way on her lips before she forced it down, instead tilting her head cutely as her emerald green eyes blinked. "Now, what should I wear to see Ciel?"

* * *

" _Cieeeel~"_ Elizabeth ran towards the bedside of her cousin, a happy smile on her face. "I'm so glad you're alright! Does it hurt anywhere? Have you changed your bandages recently? What about—"

"Now, Elizabeth, settle down." Francis Midford's voice sounded from behind her as she turned to face her mother, beaming.

"But I'm just so _happy_!" Elizabeth exclaimed, waving her arms around in the air for emphasis as her mother resisted sighing. Instead, she tapped her fan against her thigh twice. _Social etiquette._ Elizabeth immediately straightened to attention as she turned to face her aunt and uncle, curtsying. Just for good measure and to keep up her facade, she stumbled slightly while doing so. "It's so nice to see you again, Uncle Vincent and Aunt Rachel."

"Oh, don't worry about the formalities." Ciel's mother laughed as she swept Elizabeth up into her arms. "It's always nice to see my future daughter in law again. Have you grown taller again? Maa, Ciel better grow soon because the way this is coming along, it looks like you'll be over 10 centimeters taller than him."

"You exaggerate, Auntie." Elizabeth laughed. "Besides, if so I can just wear flats." That was what Lizzy had done at the very least. Just those kind of tiny actions that went unnoticed by Ciel made Elizabeth respect her canon self even more.

Behind them, Ciel groaned as his navy blue eyes opened sleepily. They seemed to register his cousin's presence as he asked weakly, "Lizzy?"  
"Elizabeth, Ciel." She corrected automatically. "I go by Elizabeth now."

"But Lizzy is more convenient to say…"

"I'm named after the former Queen, and thus I must uphold this name with dignity," Elizabeth recited with a bored look on her face. That was the explanation she now gave when asked why she now rejected her nickname. In truth, it was because Elizabeth felt as if she was sinking into her role as Lizzy. Instead of reminding her that she had taken someone else's life, the nickname instead made her forget that _she was not Lizzy_. However, her cousin was not fooled by the explanation.

"That's a load of bullshit."

"Ciel!" His mother gasped, and she narrowed her eyes. "Mind your language."

"Oh, yes, Ciel dear. Please _do_ watch yourself around us delicate and dainty ladies," Elizabeth said dryly before catching herself. For some reason, whenever she was around the Phantomhives, she dropped her guard more often. Elizabeth had to be careful: she could not get caught up in the Phantomhives' flow. There was a slight edge of sarcasm in her voice that Elizabeth inwardly scolded herself for. A lady had to show no flaws in emotion, and she had just done the opposite.

Elizabeth wanted to bang her head against a wall, frankly. The social restrictions for women were...suffocating, and sometimes she felt like wailing like the child she was from the injustice of it all.

Ciel scoffed and muttered something under his breath sourly.

"I _heard_ that, Ciel Phantomhive." Rachel Phantomhive warned, eyes narrowing as Elizabeth watched in amusement as Ciel began sinking deeper into his bed, turning away from his mother's stern gaze.

Turning to Elizabeth, Rachel gave a pleasant expression that contrasted so greatly from her previous expression that it left chills down even Elizabeth's back. "Elizabeth, would you like to stay the night? I've already talked to my sister and after some...convincing, she's alright with it."

"Wouldn't it be improper if someone found out?" Elizabeth pointed out, mind already picturing the headline of the London Gazette. _Daughter of the Marquis and the Young Earl Phantomhive caught in secret romantic rendezvous?!_

"I took care of that." Vincent Phantomhive, Ciel's father, suddenly appeared towards Elizabeth's right and she almost jumped, had it not been for the training her mother put her through on a daily basis. The Phantomhives were as well trained as she to remain silent while walking, and she hadn't even felt her uncle's presence until he spoke.

 _Be wary._

Elizabeth could not let her guard down around the Phantomhives. She had to play the part of the Marquis's daughter properly, and if anyone found out about her future knowledge, they would want to use it for their own purposes. Despite the fact that she was actually quite fond of the family, Elizabeth would not be a Prophet. She did not want to gain the Queen's attention anymore than she had already done so as her father's daughter.

Elizabeth was unsure if the world she was in was the 'anime' world or 'manga' world. If it was the anime world, then Queen Victoria could not be trusted. And the anime world had even more complications, as Season Two had completely changed the plot to some unrecognizable timeline. But the manga never finished when Elizabeth was alive in her past life, so anything could spiral out of her control as she didn't have a complete foreknowledge.

"Elizabeth?" Rachel Phantomhive prodded, noting the sudden change of demeanor as the blonde girl looked up and gave her aunt a bright beam.

"Well, if you'd have me, I'd love to stay over!" Elizabeth exclaimed, clasping her hands together and giving Ciel a bright smile that obviously spelled doom for him. The teal haired boy mourned his solitude as he resigned himself to his fate. Elizabeth began discussing with her aunt about how _delightful_ the color pink looked on the woman's son, and Rachel heartily agreed. She pretended not to feel the piercing glare of one sulky Phantomhive.

Oh, how fun it was to mess around with him.

* * *

"You're acting a bit...different," Ciel observed from his position in his bed, watching his cousin busy herself around the room, setting down a bouquet of flowers on the table. Ciel wrinkled his nose at the permeating smell of flowers: there were at least ten bouquets sent to him this morning, from rich families that wanted nothing but to establish more connections (even if it was with the Phantomhives). He had ordered for all of them, except for the Midford's bouquet, to be thrown out.

"Am I really?" Lizzy (Elizabeth, he reminded himself, choosing to respect his cousin's wish) hummed, tapping a thoughtful finger to her chin. Her face remained passively smooth, looking exactly like the lady that society wanted her to be. However, Ciel had been around his cousin long enough to tell that in reality she was probably contemplating very unladylike things in her head.

"Yeah. I can't put my finger on the feeling exactly, but you're acting a little," he searched her face for some sign. "...sad."

"Sad?" Her lips quirked upwards into an amused smile. "Why would you say that?"

It annoyed Ciel that he could never read his fiance exactly. He could read little signs about her to some degree, but when it came to her exact thoughts, he could never figure them out. "Is it because I got injured?" He guessed, and by the slight pause her fingers made before continuing to arrange the flowers Ciel knew that he had hit the bull's eye. "It's not your fault."

"It _is_ ," she said swiftly, turning around and meeting his eyes. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of green, although reflected in them at the moment was a flash of grief. "If I had just gotten you away from the scene in the first place, then neither of us had to be involved."

"We made a decision, too late to change or regret it now," Ciel replied, sternly but at the same time soft.

"Oh, but…" Elizabeth trailed off, and for a moment there was an _old_ look in her eyes. She was musing over something, that much he could tell. And whatever she was thinking of was bothering her profusely, if the way that her lips curved downwards a fraction was something to go by. "...you're just a kid, Ciel."

" _You are too,"_ he almost pointed out, but there was something that caught in his throat with the look in Elizabeth's eyes that made him stop. The look made him shiver inside, and Ciel wondered why for a brief moment he was _afraid_ of his own cousin. Her eyes had a strange glint to them, almost predator like, and Ciel had only seen that look on the men that frequently came by to talk to his father about important things related to his job.

"We shouldn't be _involved_ in this kind of world, Phantomhive or not," Elizabeth said, pacing around the room. "We're kids. We're not even ten yet, and they expect us to regularly expose ourselves to danger—"

"Dad makes sure we never get hurt, though," Ciel said, but Elizabeth sent him a flat look.

"And you really think that he'll always be around to save us?" She asked, the tiniest bit of sarcasm leaking out. There was silence for a moment. Elizabeth abruptly stood up, her face pained beyond words. "I can't stay here. I must hurry home, Ciel. I just...I just can't stay here."

"Lizzy," he tried to stop her, but the golden haired girl shook her head again.

"No, I can't. Not now," she said softly. The fact that she didn't even respond to the nickname spoke volumes to Ciel about her current state. "Give your parents my regards."

And with that, Elizabeth Ethel Cordelia Midford strolled out of the room, Ciel's heavy gaze on her.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow~ Something about last chapter made all the favorites and follows go up haha. I hope you're all liking dark!Lizzy lol, because it's only going to get gray-er and gray-er. With some fluff sprinkled in to keep the shoujo-lover inside me satisfied.**

 **A special thanks to** Carley-Carley-Carley, James Birdsong, **and** Lena-luvs-cats **for reviewing. :)**

 **Don't hesitate to leave a review and tell me your thoughts on what happens next, Elizabeth's character, ships (lol a little early buuuut I tried?), etc. I honestly can't wait to include Lau haha. And another character who I won't reveal yet. ;P**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading. :) Until next time~**


	5. Chapter 5

" _The Demon is coming!"_

" _Hurry, evacuate the base now!"_

" _What about the prisoners? Should we kill them?"_

" _Forget about them. At this rate, we're gonna be the ones lose our heads."_

 _High above on the rooftops, she muttered quietly, "Such a cliche name. Alan would've laughed." At the reminder of her cheerful, happy-go-lucky partner, she grimaced and stared at the goon's hideout. He was somewhere in there. "I'm getting him back."_

 _They were all in there. Alan, the guy who'd always cheerfully tease her, the person who held her when she had broken down after making her first kill. Eva, the mother hen of the group who never wanted to live such a life but lived it anyways because she wouldn't abandon her friends in such a hellhole. Elaine, her badass mentor who had taught her everything she knew since day one._

 _She wasn't going to lose another family. Not again._

 _She hardly hesitated in pulling the trigger, doing so at least six times._

 _Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang._

 _Six men who would never go back and see their families again. Six more lives… six more burdens that she had taken upon her shoulders._

 _The funny thing was that she didn't care._

 _Maybe they were right in calling her a 'demon'. Because right now...right now she felt like one._

 _They were going to_ pay.

* * *

What was she _thinking_?

Elizabeth couldn't believe that she had lost her composure in front of _Ciel_. God, what if he told his parents? What if he told _her_ parents? She didn't want to let go of this family, she couldn't dare get found out. She liked being Elizabeth. She liked being their Elizabeth, and if they ever found out that in reality there was a young woman residing in their child's body, she would never be able to live the same way.

"God," she groaned, burying her face in her hands as the carriage continued to move. "I am an idiot. A true, godforsaken, idiot. What am I doing?"

Elizabeth had quickly left the manor, climbed in her carriage while ignoring the startled footman, and made a signal for the driver to take off. She had to get away from that suffocating place, the plot...the thing that was driving her entire life on the path it was going to go. She hadn't counted on losing her composure in front of Ciel: it was just supposed to be a quick trip to make sure that he was okay, which was going to evolve into a sleepover.

Ciel would undoubtedly be worried about her, and Aunt Rachel and Uncle Vincent would be too once they found out she had left so abruptly. Mother would be disappointed in her for leaving in such a disrespectful way, and she didn't want to imagine her father or brother's disappointed gazes.

Elizabeth was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice something was wrong until she heard a loud _thump_ before the carriage began slowing down. What was going on? Carefully, she pulled the curtain open by a fraction, trying to see if the driver had run into someone or something the like. What she saw was much worse. Several men had surrounded the car, all in dark uniforms that she couldn't identify. They looked Southern European, if she were to put an ethnicity to them, and Elizabeth immediately cursed.

There were rumors recently of an armed bandit group that had committed several highway robberies around England, but she hadn't expected for her to actually encounter any of the sort. She blamed the plot. There were also rumors of a group 'garrotting', or half strangling, pedestrians and stripping them of their valuables that matched the profiles of the men outside.

Slowly, making sure to not make any noise, she checked to make sure that her gun was on her, slipped in her boot. Her hairpins would not work, as they would strip them from her immediately, as they were made of solid gold. Her ring...she slipped her gloves over her hands, hoping they wouldn't notice the slight incline in the fabric. And maybe...she slipped the knife that was in her purse into her corset, making sure that it didn't cut her in the process.

Elizabeth was not a fool. She was not about to go up against about ten full grown, armed men with her sword and gun. She'd have to buy time and comply with their wishes. Her life was the priority. (She _hated_ being so small and weak, damn it. She hated it.)

"Step _out_ of the carriage!" Someone barked, throwing open the door. The man was holding up his gun. A flintlock revolver, she observed, easily picking it out from her lessons with her mother. Probably made by that Collier fellow. It was much more accurate than its predecessors, but at least it took a little while to reload the gun.

Stepping down daintily, she clutched her purse and squeezed her eyes shut, making tears leak out slightly. The more pathetic Elizabeth looked, the better. They were more likely to underestimate her then. "P-please don't hurt me," she said with a shaky voice, sticking out her bottom lip a bit and biting on it, her body shaking.

"Oh, we won't, little girl. As long as you cooperate." The man sneered. Turning to the fellows around him, he said, "Call the boss and tell him we got one."

"Um...Dean?" One of the men asked shakily, and the man turned to his companion and gave him a glare.

"What?"

With a trembling finger, he pointed at the crest on the side of the carriage. "This girl...she's the Midford's daughter. The Head Knight of England's daughter. This is bad, we just took the Head Knight's daughter. I...I heard that she was engaged to the Watchdog's son." His breath grew more rabid as he asked, "What are we going to do?"

"Calm down, idiot," the man, 'Dean' as he had been called, barked. Turning to glare at Elizabeth, who immediately started working on the waterworks again, he said lowly, "Don't move a muscle."

Elizabeth simply nodded her head, and with that action the rest of the men began raiding the carriage. She stared into the apathetic eyes of the man warily, and suddenly the man lifted his gun.

 _Bang_.

Elizabeth flinched. The bullet had barely grazed her left ear, and slowly she turned around to see her driver slump to the ground, dead. There was blood pooling around his body, the blood a bright _redredredredredred_ —

She snapped out of her trance. Now was not the time to be worrying about others, even though she silently mourned her driver's loss. He was kind, and occasionally gave her candy when her mother wasn't watching.

"See how easy it is for me to kill you? Huh? You see?" The man taunted, although there was a flash of panic in his eyes as he now knew her identity. That was bad: Elizabeth could not work with panic. She could offer a deal if he was afraid, but if he was panicking, then he might not act as rational. She had to figure out a way to calm him down, to get things under control…

"Dean, the boss has called back. He says for us to bring the girl...we're already screwed as it is for targeting their family, so hopefully if we hold her hostage, they won't…"

Elizabeth withheld a snort at the logic. Her family would _obliterate_ their group if they took her captive. True, they probably still would have hunted down the group for robbing and humiliating her, but the group still would have had a chance if they hightailed it out of the country as soon as they finished the robbery.

"Strip the girl of any weapons, she's a part of the Midford family. We must take precautions," Dean ordered, and Elizabeth stiffened.

Well then.

Elizabeth prepared herself to go down fighting, but she was not expecting the arm that wrapped around her neck and choked her while stuffing a heavily scented rag in her mouth. Her eyelids began drooping as she couldn't help but think:

 _She was so, so screwed this time._

* * *

"Ow, they could've at least done it a bit softer," Elizabeth groaned. Her head hurt, but she could tell that there wasn't anything permanent. They probably used chloral, a sedative drug usually used to treat insomnia. It was easy to gain access to such a drug, so she didn't doubt the possibility.

"Welcome back to the world of the living, darling," an amused voice said from behind her, and Elizabeth quickly looked over to the side, attempting to stand up. Instead, she felt a heavy resistance when she tried to move her leg, and looking down, she could see that both of her legs were chained to the ground. Her arms were less restricted, as they only tied her hands together with rope.

 _Bastards._ If she got out of here she would skin them alive, consequences be damned. She glanced down to her chest and was relieved to see that she was still wearing her clothes, although they had taken away her shoes and accessories (dangit, the knife she hid in her boots might have come in handy). She had hidden a knife in her corset, so if she managed to get the men's attention off her for a moment, she knew exactly how she could get out of here.

"You are the boss, I presume?" Her voice was light hearted, although there was a slight tremble that betrayed her inner anger and slight fear. "Your men are idiots." She tensed, waiting for a slap or whatever kind of torture they might put her through, but instead she got a small chuckle.

"Yes...yes they are, for not checking what the crest on your carriage meant beforehand. But those men have been punished accordingly, and as of the moment, we've attained an even more precious treasure than I could hope for."

Elizabeth finally looked up to meet the boss's eyes, and her emerald green eyes widened in pure shock and horror as she realized: _the man's eyes were pink_.

Despite the fact that Kuroshitsuji was a manga and anime, it was still realistic to the time period. Colored contacts were _not_ the way to go when it came to fashion sense, and Elizabeth actually wasn't sure if contacts were invented at the time.

Her mind ran through several possible hypotheses before coming to a dreaded conclusion.

He was demon.

Any thoughts of escape had literally disappeared from her mind as briefly she closed her eyes and let out a sigh, thinking to herself.

 _Maybe if she had just killed Ciel nothing like this would have ever happened to her_.

The dark thought almost made her chuckle, but she shoved it down. It seemed as if the more Elizabeth learned about the world, the more humanity (and sanity) she began to lose. The old her, in her old life, would have been aghast. After all, one of her few moral codes was _don't mess with the children_.

"Your soul looks quite...delicious," the man licked his lips as he leaned closer to her. "How can it be, that a soul that resides in a body has two different sets of memories?"

Elizabeth immediately stiffened. Her work...her masks...how did this man ( _demon_ , her mind reminded her) see through it all?

"After all, the Reapers were talking quite a bit about you. The girl with the wrong soul, the girl with two lives. Apparently a Reaper messed up and inserted another Record into your host, poor girl."

 _Oh, fuck._

Elizabeth finally understood her existence. Well, sort of. There was still the matter of _what triggered that Reaper to put another Record into Lizzy's body?_ But she supposed she could figure that out later. Did that mean that 'Lizzy' was still inside her? Or had her Record, considering her longer lifespan, overpowered Lizzy's?

The very thought made her sick to her stomach.

Lizzy was _still there?_

Then again, Lizzy in this lifetime never got the chance to live out her life. She wouldn't be the same Lizzy….she _wasn't_. That was what Elizabeth was trying to convince herself of, anyways.

She couldn't be distracted by this. Not now. She had to focus on the task at hand, and maybe later when she was out of danger she could contemplate and angst more over her existence and shit. But brooding came second to surviving: Elizabeth had to _survive_ right now. She was going against a demon.

(Then again, back in the day, hadn't they called _her_ that?)

She had to consider her options and current situation.

One: she was chained. She doubted with her current body she could break them, although she knew that if she was still in the same physical shape as her past life's body, she could definitely break them. Two: she didn't know where she was. Nice. Three: probably no tracking devices, considering the age, but then again demons threw everything off. She wouldn't be able to outrun a demon.

She just had to stall. She knew that her family would come for her.

Elizabeth ( _notLizzy,neverher_ ) sighed wearily. Eyes meeting the demon's, she simply drawled, "So...do inform me. I'm quite curious about what the rumor mill knows about me."

"The Reapers can't interfere with your life right now, because that'd disrupt the human world anymore. But knowing that damned Red Reaper who messed up, they'll probably come after your head sooner or later," the demon replied, obviously humoring her as a predator did with its prey right before its last moments. He drew closer to her, lightly trailing his hand along her face as if scrutinizing every part of his meal.

She heard commotion from outside of the room, and the demon immediately withdrew and scowled. "Damn humans, can't do a single thing right," he muttered. With a cool voice, he ordered, "Don't you dare even trying anything. I can catch you again easily enough."

As soon as the demon left, she lept into action. Gritting her teeth and lowering her head she retrieved the knife hidden in her corset by grabbing at it with her teeth. With ease that only came with _hours_ and _hours_ of practicing with her mother, she jerked her heads upwards and allowed for the knife to fly in the air, adjusting her hands at just the right angle for the knife to land in her right hand behind her back.

Eyebrows creased, she adjusted the angle of the knife and began sawing at the rope that was holding her hands together, and once they were about halfway cut, she simply pulled her hands apart with brute strength.

Noting the red marks on her hands from how tightly they were bound, she growled. Those _bastards_. Doing such to a girl was unacceptable.

Her parents would probably not let her out for the next few weeks because of this incident. These guys were going to _pay_.

She didn't even notice that she had slipped into the familiar patterns of her old life until she was already outside, creeping down the hallway and checking for nonexistent and non invented cameras in the hallways.

" _To your right."_

She had barely enough time to contemplate where the voice had come from before her instincts took over and she dived to the ground, barely avoiding being shot in the head. Growling, she whipped around and her leg shot out, knocking down the man who had shot at her. Adrenaline rushing through her veins, she grabbed the flintlock revolver, checked to make sure that it was loaded, and shot at the second guy's leg. _Aim to injure, not kill._

Her hands were clean and she aimed to keep them so for as long as possible.

( _Because then, just maybe, she could delude herself into thinking that she had never been Evelyn Seré, the Underworld's Demon who had stolen so many lives before her own was stolen._ )

Bang. Bang. Bang. Three men fell to the floor, groaning. She could hear more footsteps and quickly turned to the next hallway, shooting all the men in front of her and using one of their falling bodies to propel herself in the air. Jumping from one man's head to another, she easily avoided the bullets shot her way and made her way to the sound of chaos ahead.

Blonde hair, emerald green eyes just like hers.

"Father! Mother! Edward, over here," she called, waving cheerfully as she casually shot a man trying to sneak up behind her in the leg. Whipping around, she kicked another man, sending him flying into another one of his companions. She ducked, avoiding several rounds of gunfire before rushing past a mob of men, shooting each of them in the leg, before finally making her way to Edward.

"Lizzy," he said breathlessly, his worried eyes distracting her from his usage of her childhood nickname. "You're safe."

"Thought I wouldn't be? That would shame Mother's teachings," Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"We have to get you away from here. It's too dangerous."

"My life is _always_ going to be full of perilous situations," Elizabeth said evenly, locking gazes with her brother. It was as if some kind of silent communication had occurred between the two, and when she saw Edward give a curt nod she knew that he understood. They wouldn't let their parents do this alone. Catching the sword that Edward tossed at her, she grinned as she spotted several more mobs of goons rushing out of the base and spotting them. "Bet'cha I can defeat more than you, Brother."

"Don't get cocky," Edward scolded, but there was a small smile playing on his face anyways. "But...just saying, I don't think that's even possible."

They charged.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeahhhhh so this could've been longer, but tbh I've been focusing a lot of effort on my Magi story _Yamuraiha_ at the moment so...lol. Whoopsies.**

 **Either way, I hope this chapter does shed some more light on Elizabeth, her past life, etc. etc. ;D Once again, I'd like to thank all you amazing reviewers/favorite-ers/followers for doing what you do because it always encourages me to read/see those.**

 **Glad to see all of you are enjoying badass Lizzy and the story, because honestly it's only going to get darker and stuff from here. Elizabeth will by no means be a damsel in distress, but note that she does have flaws and hopefully if you haven't seen much yet, in future chapters these flaws will be explored a bit more.**

 **Thanks for reading~! Do drop by a review if you have the time. :D**


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